Speed limit to increase in nearly 200 school zones in Mississauga

Posted speed limits in nearly 200 Mississauga school zones will soon increase to 40 km/h outside of school hours, city officials say.

Under a plan approved by city council this past October, the new signage will be posted starting this spring in 199 school zones on local roads where the speed limit is currently 30 km/h (at all times) and in another 31 school zones on major roads.

With the new amendments on local roads, City of Mississauga officials said the speed limit will remain 30 km/h from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, and outside that period will be increased to 40 km/h. The move was prompted by complaints from drivers that the 30 km/h limit was too low during times when there were no students and other people around.

As for the 31 school areas on major roads, those “will be reviewed on an individual basis with potential changes to the existing regulatory speed limits,” the city said in a news release, adding the work involving all school zones will take place throughout 2025 and early 2026.

“The new speed limits will not take effect until new signs are installed,” officials added.

In addition to the speed limit changes, all school zones on major roads will be designated as Community Safety Zones. That means they’ll be eligible for inclusion in the city’s speed camera initiative, more officially known as the automated speed enforcement program that catchers speeders on camera and sends them tickets/fines by mail.

The city said all school zones on local roads were designated as Community Safety Zones in 2021. Last year, 64 local school zones were equipped with ASE cameras on a rotating basis.

“Community Safety Zones are designated sections of the roads where public safety is of special concern,” the city said. “Many set fines are doubled in these zones, such as speeding and traffic signal-related offences. This move will help increase public safety by helping to reduce aggressive driving and speeding.”

The city plans to implement a number of additional road safety initiatives in 2025 to reduce speeding, including:

• installing additional traffic calming measures to reduce speeding
• installing more pedestrian crossovers to provide protected pedestrian crossings
• adding more roads to the Slow Streets program, where temporary traffic calming devices are installed on neighbourhood streets to reduce speeds